U.S. Rep. Tom Petri buys stock in company lobbying for bill in his committee

Feb. 7, 2014

U.S. Rep. Tom Petri / Bruce Halmo/Gannett Wisconsin Media

Written by

Donovan Slack

Gannett Wisconsin Media Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The overlapping of Rep. Tom Petri’s official actions and his personal stock portfolio is not limited to companies based in his Wisconsin district.

Petri and his wife own between $65,000 and $100,000 worth of shares in a Washington state-based timber company that is pushing for passage of a bill currently before the transportation subcommittee that Petri chairs.

In May 2012, Petri bought between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of shares in Plum Creek Timber, which owns 6.4 million acres of timberland across the country. Its biggest holdings are in Montana and Maine.

Last year, on March 13, his wife bought another $50,000 to $100,000 worth of Plum Creek stock, a Gannett Wisconsin Media Washington Bureau review of financial disclosure reports found.

That was exactly one month after legislation increasing weight limits for trucks on federal highways was introduced in Congress and transferred to the House transportation subcommittee chaired by Petri, the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. Increased weight limits would allow Plum Creek to increase productivity by having more timber on each truck, boosting potential profits.

At the same time, during the first quarter of 2013, the company reported spending $280,000 to lobby Congress for the bill’s passage as well as to push its other legislative priorities. The bill has not yet received a hearing.

A spokesman for Petri, Lee Brooks, said the legislation is supported by a huge coalition based in Wisconsin, including the state’s Department of Transportation.

Brooks declined to say if the congressman knew about Plum Creek’s interest in the bill before his committee when he and his wife bought shares in the company.

“The answer is that he is aware that this is a bill affecting national policy — not just one company,” he said.

“Congressman Petri invests in businesses that he believes are solid, well-run companies.”

Plum Creek spokeswoman Kathy Budinick said the company was not aware of Petri’s stock in the company. She said Plum Creek is lobbying for the increased weight limits through the Forest Resources Association and a group of companies and organizations called the Coalition for Transportation Productivity.

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“The truck weights legislation is an important issue, but it has not been a focus of our lobbying efforts,” Budinick said.

Ethics watchdogs say the Plum Creek investments could create a conflict of interest for Petri if he acts on the increased weight limits as chair of his committee — for example, by scheduling and conducting a hearing, bringing it up for a vote and casting a vote.

“It’s an area where he needs to exercise a lot of caution,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “If they were going to have a hearing on that bill, he would have to disclose and probably recuse himself.”

House ethics rules allow members to participate when the entire House is voting on measures that could impact their personal financial portfolios. But when it comes to taking actions as chair of a committee, the rules are less clear.

The House Ethics Committee, which enforces the rules, makes case-by-case determinations based on a variety of circumstances, including the amount and directness of financial benefit.

When it comes to investments and congressional duties, other members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation have taken a different tack.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, keeps her holdings in a blind trust that prohibits any communication with the trustee that isn’t first approved by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. She had a similar trust during her tenure in the House.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, divested himself of stock after he was elected in 2010. He told Gannett at the time, “I sold every liquid asset so there would be absolutely no chance for conflict of interest.”

Brooks said Petri hasn’t taken any such steps because he doesn’t have to.

“Congressman Petri always follows the rules of the House, period,” he said. “Whenever appropriate, Congressman Petri goes to great lengths to ensure his stock ownership is disclosed.

“Congressman Petri operates by the letter and spirit of the law and he believes it is important for these things to be as transparent as possible.”